BALAAM by JOS. CLARKE

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 9, 1869

BALAAM.

By JOS. CLARKE

The conduct of Balaam, in wishing to earn the honors and the gold of his king, is a cutting satire upon human nature, as it is often developed in money-loving, avaricious apostates from the faith, who, Judas-like, will sell their Lord for cash down.

The perseverance of this greedy apostate, in receiving Balak’s messengers after he was expressly forbidden to go with them, and his experience in his conversation with the beast, which seems to have had more sensibility than his rider, and his triple attempt to curse the people of God upon his seven altars, three times erected in as many different localities, and the anger and disappointment of Balak, who lost all his expense and labor, in his sacrifices, and who sent the poor prophet Balaam home in disgrace, empty as he came, is altogether an apt representation of the madness of those who oppose God in his work.

But the strangest part of the story is, that Balaam, after having been, as he no doubt was, once a true and great prophet, should, after all, advise his king Balak to effect by base stratagem, the overthrow of the people of God, by causing them to associate with the women of Moab, and form connexions with them by marriage; knowing, as he did, that this was forbidden of God.

But the guilt of those, who, professing to be the people of God, still consider it right to ally themselves with the world, by marriage, may be inferred from the winding up of this strange and wicked plan, as recorded in Numbers, chap. xxv. See also Rev. ii, 14.

JOS. CLARKE.